Police urge fugitive to surrender

SANFORD — Officials with the Maine State Police and U.S. Marshals Service this afternoon urged an escaped convict to turn himself in before he or someone else gets hurt.

U.S. Marshal for Maine Noel March and State Police Lt. Louis Nyitray at a news conference this afternoon asked that Hobson or anyone with information about his whereabouts contact state police at 657-3030.

Additional Photos

A SWAT team waits behind their vehicle at a house on New Dam Road in Sanford this morning. Police questioned some of fugitive David Hobson's relatives who live along the road and searched an area nearby where they found clothing and medical supplies. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Police hunting for fugitive David Hobson conducted searches at these properties on New Dam Road in Sanford this morning.

David Hobson, in photos provided by the Maine State Police, left, and by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, right. The photo on the right was taken in July 2011.

A SWAT team member walks across New Dam Road in Sanford this morning. Police are searching for fugitive David Hobson. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Meanwhile, troopers dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles planned to renew their search of the woods between Sanford, Alfred and Lyman. The state police had also called in members of its crisis negotiating teams to join more than three dozen law enforcement personnel who have been searching for Hobson since his escape Thursday.

Authorities confirmed that they had searched two homes on New Dam Road this morning and found evidence in the woods nearby that Hobson had been there. Police said they found clothing, medical supplies and receipts from a store where new clothes and the medical supplies had been purchased.

Police took two of Hobson’s relatives, who lived there, in for questioning but they have not been charged.

Police urged residents to lock their homes and vehicles, not to leave their keys in their cars and to report anything suspicious.

Police said Hobson had not harmed anyone but that he is desperate. He has made threats toward a specific person with whom he had a relationship, but police would not be more specific about the person’s identity. The person is in a safe place, police said.

2:28 p.m.

SANFORD — State police focused their search for escaped convict David Hobson this morning on a house on New Dam Road after receiving reliable information that the fugitive was there.

However, police say the tip was six hours old and Hobson had left by the time they arrived.

Police searched two houses on New Dam Road this morning belonging to relatives of Hobson.

At one house, police executing a search warrant took two people into a cruiser for questioning.

New Dam Road was closed this morning while police conducted the search, but has been re-opened to the public. Police have left the scene, but a search plane continues to circle overhead.

Meanwhile, a red and white Chevrolet pickup truck that police believed Hobson had stolen from a New Dam Road residence has been located. Police say the truck had been borrowed by the son-in-law of the homeowner who reported the unregistered vehicle missing this morning.

State police have scheduled a news conference for 2 p.m..

Two stolen vehicles reported missing last week have been accounted for. One, a black 2004 Toyota Highlander SUV was recovered Saturday night on Whichers MIll Road near the Alfred, Lyman and Sanford town lines in the area of the Massabesic Experimental Forest.

The bloody vehicle confirmed police suspicions that Hobson was seriously injured when he climbed a razor wire-topped fence to escape from the jail. Police had also been looking for a 2004 blue Honda Accord stolen from Sanford on Friday, but officials said Sunday that car was located in Old Orchard Beach and any connection to Hobson was ruled out.

1:18 p.m.

SANFORD — Police searching for escaped convict David Hobson say they are now looking for a red and white Chevrolet pickup truck that is missing from a residence on New Dam Road in Sanford.

Police say a homeowner reported at mid-morning that his unregistered pickup truck with keys in the ignition was missing.

State police say the truck was taken overnight and there is a strong likelihood that Hobson is
driving it. The truck is a 1992 red and white Chevrolet S-10 pickup with Maine license number 7518 IM.

Police also searched two houses on New Dam Road this morning belonging to relatives of Hobson.

The road was closed while police conducted the search, but has been re-opened to the public and police have left the scene.

A woman who lives on the road reported seeing flashlights last night in the trails behind her property, which includes an empty cabin.

Two stolen vehicles reported missing last week have been accounted for. One, a black 2004 Toyota Highlander SUV was recovered Saturday night on Whichers MIll Road near the Alfred, Lyman and Sanford town lines in the area of the Massabesic Experimental Forest.

The bloody vehicle confirmed police suspicions that Hobson was seriously injured when he climbed a razor wire-topped fence to escape from the jail. Police had also been looking for a 2004 blue Honda Accord stolen from Sanford on Friday, but officials said Sunday that car was located in Old Orchard Beach and any connection to Hobson was ruled out.

12:46 p.m.

SANFORD — Police searching for escaped convict David Hobson say they are now looking for an unregistered vehicle that is missing from a residence on New Dam Road in Sanford.

Police say a resident has reported that his unregistered vehicle with keys in the ignition is missing.

Police also say the U.S. Marshals Service have taken a lead role in the manhunt.

10:21 a.m.

SANFORD — State police have renewed their efforts this morning to find escaped prisoner David Hobson.

Troopers are searching an area along New Dam Road in Sanford and that road has been blocked to traffic, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. There are still no confirmed sightings of Hobson.

Police said they believe Hobson injured himself on razor wire during his escape, is armed, and that he headed to the Alfred area with the intention of harming two specific people. Police also say Hobson’s father tried to aid him in his flight from police, by leaving medical supplies for him.

The search Sunday was focused in the heavily wooded area at the Alfred, Lyman and Sanford town lines near the Massabesic Experimental Forest. That is the area where, on Saturday night, police recovered a blood-soaked black 2004 Toyota Highlander SUV on Whichers Mills Road believed to have been stolen by Hobson in Wakefield, N.H., on Thursday, McCausland said.

The bloody vehicle confirmed police suspicions that Hobson was seriously injured when he climbed a razor wire-topped fence to escape from the jail. Police had also been looking for a 2004 blue Honda Accord stolen from Sanford on Friday, but officials said Sunday that car was located in Old Orchard Beach and any connection to Hobson was ruled out.

McCausland said people should be vigilant about their surroundings and aware of buildings attractive to a fugitive seeking refuge or supplies.

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